Let's start with a couple of illustrations:

A man watched his wife making dinner. She cut the bottom part of the roast she was making before putting it in the crock-pot. He asked why she had done that. She thought for a second, then said, "That's how my mom always made it." They talked about that for a bit, then called her mother to find out why.

Her mother thought about it, then said, "That's how my mom made it." She called her mother to find out why.

Her response? "My crock pot was too small to hold the whole roast."

One Sunday morning while taking communion, I noticed the juice had a decided "bite." My wife noticed the same thing, but we decided the preparer would use different juice the next week.

The next Sunday, the same thing happened, with even more of a "bite." We thought the same as the week before, that it would be changed the next week.

The following Sunday, the "bite" was extremely pronounced. I bought a new jug of grape juice and before the evening services, I went to the kitchen to replace the old juice. Upon opening the refrigerator door, I found four large, unopened bottles of grape juice, and one that had been used, obviously the one with the problem.

This bottle had a ring about halfway up the bottle of encrusted grape juice. It looked like what happens when a glass of water is half frozen, then the water is poured out, leaving a ring of ice partially covering the rest of the opening. Unfortunately, the refrigerator wasn't cold enough to freeze it. I poured the rest of the bottle in the sink, resulting in gurgles and "paint ball" spots whenever something hard hit the sink.

I think both of these illustrate something that concerns every Christian and has impacted Christianity ever since it began: Christians often do something because somebody else did it, that's how it's always been done, or that's how they were taught to do it. They are like the Pharisees:

He replied, "Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: 'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.' You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men." Mark 7:6-8 (NIV)

They have let go of the commands of God and are following the traditions of men, doing the letter of the law without knowing the intent behind it. They are like spiritual babies:

1 Corinthians 3:2-3 "Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly-mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealously and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men?"

Hebrews 5:11-14 "We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.

Do you see the process? Spiritual babies begin with spiritual milk, but they're expected to graduate from it:

Hebrews 6:1-3 "Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And God permitting, we will do so."

As long as people believe whatever they're told and don't figure it out for themselves, they're spiritually babies. It doesn't matter if they're 12 or 92.

Consider the following verses:

Philippians 2:12-13 "Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed-not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence-continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose."

Acts 17:11 "Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true."

Do you notice the common thread in these verses? Study for yourself to see if what you're being taught is in accord with God's word. You must develop your own salvation.

Folks, I believe we are in a crisis. We don't study the Bible enough to be weaned off of spiritual milk. How much time each day do you spend studying the Bible? Notice I said STUDYING instead of READING. There is a major difference. In school, I read the notes to prepare for a test, took the test, then immediately forgot everything I read for it. When I'm interested in something, I study it so I'll remember what it says for a long time. Proverbs 7:2-3 "Keep my commands and you will live; guard my teachings as the apple of your eye. Bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart." This isn't talking about the phylacteries used by the Jews, this was an admonition to study God's word and keep it in mind at all times.

Do you know anyone who says with "pride": "I don't know how to balance a checkbook." Nothing like a little numerical ignorance, but how many people would admit to illiteracy? One is trendy; the other shows a lack of intelligence. In the church, too many "Christians" are Biblically ignorant: "I think there's a verse that says something about how I believe." They're still infants! We need to put Biblical ignorance in the same category as illiteracy then attack and destroy it.

Unfortunately, Biblical ignorance must be trendy. If this weren't the case, there wouldn't be so much of it. I've taught Bible classes at two congregations, I would consider very few of the adults to have more than a sixth-grade Bible education. The majority has no idea where many of the books are located, let alone know what more than a couple verses in those books say.

Something kind of similar occurred during the Middle Ages-except it was forced on the people instead of instigated by the people themselves. The Catholic Church conducted their services in a language that nobody spoke--many of the clerics had no idea what they were saying! -and ACTIVELY discouraged their subjects from Bible study. Only the clerics had access to a Bible and told their subjects what to do. (Possibly the biggest example of this situation today are Jehovah's Witnesses. One estimate stated that if the members read all the text they are supposed to read they wouldn't have time for anything else, since Watchtower publishes so much. The members are forbidden to read any spiritual-type text not published by their group-just ask one to read a pamphlet against JW sometime and see what response you get.)

I don't know if it's worse for non-study to be forced on people or brought about by the people themselves. Either way, it results in ignorance.

Ignorance causes people to divide the Church. Ignorance causes people to follow traditions of men instead of Christ. Ignorance causes people to judge others based on their own "inherited" beliefs instead of God's laws.

So, how do we get rid of ignorance?

2 Timothy 2:15 "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth."

Another version says, "Study to show yourself approved…"

"Correctly handles the word of truth" seems to rule out doing anything based on ignorance of God's law.

This is a good, applicable passage:

"And the Lord's servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their sense and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will." 2 Timothy 2:24-26

Looks like the devil confuses the knowledge of truth, and the ignorant do his will.

I encourage you to study God's word so you can graduate from spiritual milk to solid food, develop your own salvation, and avoid foolish controversy.